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News from the Oklahoma National Guard

Oklahoma Army National Guardsman, Spc. Evann Paulsen, member of 1st Battalion, 160th Field Artillery Regiment, 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, performs border operations along the Rio Grande in El Paso, Texas, August 16, 2023. Approximately 50 Soldiers and Airmen are assisting the Texas National Guard with border security by manning security points to identify and alert local law enforcement of any illegal immigrant or drug trafficking activities. The deployment is expected to last through the end of August with a follow-on deployment of an additional 50 Soldiers and Airmen sometime in 2024. (Oklahoma National Guard photo by Sgt. Reece Heck)

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Oklahoma Army National Guardsman, Spc. Evann Paulsen, member of 1st Battalion, 160th Field Artillery Regiment, 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, performs border operations along the Rio Grande in El Paso, Texas, August 16, 2023. Approximately 50 Soldiers and Airmen are assisting the Texas National Guard with border security by manning security points to identify and alert local law enforcement of any illegal immigrant or drug trafficking activities. The deployment is expected to last through the end of August with a follow-on deployment of an additional 50 Soldiers and Airmen sometime in 2024. (Oklahoma National Guard photo by Sgt. Reece Heck)

Oklahoma Army National Guard Soldiers, Spc. Blake Morgan (left), member of the 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, and Sgt. Chance Minter (right), member of the 45th Field Artillery Brigade, perform border operations along the Rio Grande in El Paso, Texas, August 16, 2023. Approximately 50 Soldiers and Airmen are assisting the Texas National Guard with border security by manning security points to identify and alert local law enforcement of any illegal immigrant or drug trafficking activities. The deployment is expected to last through the end of August with a follow-on deployment of an additional 50 Soldiers and Airmen sometime in 2024. (Oklahoma National Guard photo by Sgt. Reece Heck)

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Oklahoma Army National Guard Soldiers, Spc. Blake Morgan (left), member of the 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, and Sgt. Chance Minter (right), member of the 45th Field Artillery Brigade, perform border operations along the Rio Grande in El Paso, Texas, August 16, 2023. Approximately 50 Soldiers and Airmen are assisting the Texas National Guard with border security by manning security points to identify and alert local law enforcement of any illegal immigrant or drug trafficking activities. The deployment is expected to last through the end of August with a follow-on deployment of an additional 50 Soldiers and Airmen sometime in 2024. (Oklahoma National Guard photo by Sgt. Reece Heck)

Members of the Oklahoma National Guard, Spc. Darrell Casey (left), member of 1st Battalion, 160th Field Artillery Regiment, 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, and Staff Sgt. Patrick Sanchez (right), member of the 137th Special Operations Wing, perform border operations along the Rio Grande River, August 2, 2023. Approximately 50 Soldiers and Airmen are assisting the Texas National Guard with border security by manning security points to identify and alert local law enforcement of any illegal immigrant or drug trafficking activities. The deployment is expected to last through the end of August with a follow-on deployment of an additional 50 Soldiers and Airmen sometime in 2024. (Oklahoma National Guard photo by Sgt. Reece Heck)

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Members of the Oklahoma National Guard, Spc. Darrell Casey (left), member of 1st Battalion, 160th Field Artillery Regiment, 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, and Staff Sgt. Patrick Sanchez (right), member of the 137th Special Operations Wing, perform border operations along the Rio Grande River, August 2, 2023. Approximately 50 Soldiers and Airmen are assisting the Texas National Guard with border security by manning security points to identify and alert local law enforcement of any illegal immigrant or drug trafficking activities. The deployment is expected to last through the end of August with a follow-on deployment of an additional 50 Soldiers and Airmen sometime in 2024. (Oklahoma National Guard photo by Sgt. Reece Heck)

OKLAHOMA CITY –

Fifty Oklahoma National Guard members who deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border in support of the Texas Military Department’s Operation Lone Star returned to Oklahoma on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023.

Comprising both Army National Guard Soldiers and Air National Guard Airmen, the Oklahoma National Guard members were stationed at security points alongside Texas National Guard members to help identify and report suspicious activities related to illegal immigration and drug trafficking to local law enforcement and U.S. Border Patrol.

Video by Spc. Anthony Ackah-Mensah

SWOSU GOLD Soldiers and student honored for saving fellow student’s life

Oklahoma National Guard

March 13, 2025 | 1:22

Four Southwestern Oklahoma State University Guard Officer Leadership Development (GOLD) program officer candidates and one student lifeguard were honored on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, for their heroic actions in saving a fellow GOLD candidate during a training exercise on Jan. 28, 2025, in Weatherford, Oklahoma.

Spc. Avrie Nowakowski, Spc. Diego Ortiz, Pfc. Rhyson Golightly, and Spc. Austin May were among the officer candidates who received the Army Achievement Medal for their actions.

Statton Mantz, the student lifeguard involved, received the Thunderbird Medal, the Oklahoma National Guard’s highest award presented to a civilian